Zynga Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Zynga had asked for a case submission (Pick any product and increase its revenue by 5%)so first few questions were based on that
I had suggested for monetization by introduction of new feature and questions revolved around that feature.Why do you think people will pay for it? How can you use data to justify if such a feature is required? Be very specific w.r.t to defining customer journey and what are the data points that you will collect through the journey to verify feature requirement before you build it

Final question was, give a 2 min pitch for this feature to your senior and
how you will convince your bandwidth crunched technical resource to build this
feature

Further, he gave additional problem solving of an e-commerce platform. Bounce rate of an ecommerce website if up by 20%, what do you think is the reason.
Structure is very important here. Be well versed with the e-commerce funnel and which KPIs you will look at to know what is going on. I started by asking the device type questions (Mobile vs Desktop), he said the bounce rate is in mobile app and not website. Further I asked for a trend (as in for how long we see this increment). To this he mentioned that the bounce rate has increased suddenly in one day span. Post this I went into the ecommerce funnel and tried to identify from which page customers were leaving the application. Once that was narrowed down, I asked for has there been any UI changes in this one-day span. It turned out that technical team had done some UI changes because of which few call to action buttons were not visible on the mobile screen (less than 4inch screen).

Q1. The interview started with a round of introduction. Behavioral questions, tell me about yourself? Why PM? Life goals? Situations where you have failed? Biggest success of life?
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Q2. Further, there was a series of puzzle. He asked 3 puzzles and gave only 2 min per puzzle to solve. 1st was a 25 horses puzzle, 2nd was, 3rd was
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Q3. Lastly, he devoted around 45 min to product thinking. Gave multiple cases back to back. 1st case was to monetize WhatsApp.
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Q4. Biggest success of life?
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Q5. Gave multiple cases back to back. 1st case was to monetize WhatsApp.
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Q1. . The interview started with a round of introduction. Behavioral questions, tell me about yourself? Why PM? Life goals? Situations where you have failed? Biggest success of life?
Add your answer
Q2. Further, there was a series of puzzle. He asked 3 puzzles and gave only 2 min per puzzle to solve. 1st was a 25 horses puzzle, 2nd was, 3rd was
Add your answer

Candy crush is seeing a steep drop in the number of users between level 6 and 7.What can be the causes?
The difficulty level (too high in level 7) or fatigue (people are getting bored/tired by the time they reach level 7)

What test would you perform to find the cause?
Make the difficulty of level 7 same as level 6. If we see the same pattern, it would be due to fatigue

What's another way to do the test?
Replace level 5 with level 7. If the problem is difficulty, we would now see a drop between level 5 and 6.

Amazon saw a very steep decrease in revenue today.What would be the first question you would ask? Answer to that question should lead to 2 different approaches.
Was there a drop in number of users visiting the site? If yes, we need to check why users did not visit amazon for their purchases. If no, we need to check why they purchased less as compared to regular amount.

There was no drop in the DAU. Nothing external. No change in functionality of the site. Now how will you proceed?
Trace the user journey:

1) Lands on the home page (we know the user has visited)

2) Types in the search box or clicks on one of the categories or offers

3) Lands on results page (list of products, filters, etc.)

4) Clicks on filters to narrow down the results or clicks on an item

5) Lands on the product details page and selects buy now or goes back

6) Cart and Payment pages

There was a drop in users reaching the product details page. What would be your thought process (general idea not specific to a product category)?
Means users are reaching the results page but not going forward. Factors: Relevance and Product Descriptions.

Evaluate each one of them to check if something has changed Relevance: Clicks on first page of results? Position of the clicked item in the list? Navigation to 2nd page? Usage of filters? - Change in these statistics can tell us if the results were relevant to what user was looking for.
Product Description: Name, Short desc, Reviews, Amazon fulfilled, prices - Check if any of these factors have changed for the category that would be facing the problem.

A game where you get to dress up avatars using different apparels, jewelry, etc. As creativity is subjective, how will you judge the work of players and build a points system?
I don’t fully remember my answer, but following were some of the points I made: • Let players judge each other's work • Provide incentives for players to judge as many avatars as possible • Show them two avatars and let them pick the best one. The picked one gets points. This provides a frame of reference for players to judge.

Per day revenue of Swiggy in Hyderabad. Puzzles: 2 ropes of different lengths and non-uniform cross sections/density. Each takes 1 hr to burn. Measure 45 mins. 1 ant on each vertex of a triangle. Each can go along any of the two sides connected to the corner. Find the probability that none of the ants collide.
: (Dos and Don’ts, What went wrong.. , What went right.. etc.) Interviewer was pretty chill and very helpful. Whenever I was going in the wrong direction, he was asking me questions that can help me get back on track. Also, as they provided multiple cases, don’t worry if you screw up one case. So be calm and take your time to answer the question. They were looking to understand how you think, and not for a structure from any book.

Did you clear the round?
Yes

Q1. . The interviewer first asked what game do I play in real life. I said table tennis. He then asked me to design a mobile game for it.
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Q2. Design a mobile game for it.
Ans. 
Design a mobile game where players match colored tiles to earn points.
• The game should have a grid of colored tiles that players can tap on to select.

• Players earn points by matching tiles of the same color in a row or column.

• Include power-ups or special tiles to add excitement and strategic elements.

• Add levels or challenges to keep players engaged and motivated.

• Consider adding social features like leaderboards or multip...read more
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Q3. Draw the wireframes.
Ans. 
The wireframes for the Associate Product Manager interview question.
• Create wireframes for each screen or page of the product

• Include key elements such as navigation, content layout, and interactive elements

• Use tools like Sketch, Adobe XD, or Balsamiq to create the wireframes

• Ensure consistency in design and user experience across screens

• Consider user flows and interactions to guide the wireframe design
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Q4. Once a person owns all the bats, he will stop paying as we cannot keep adding bats every month. What can you do?
Ans. 
Implement a subscription model with a fixed monthly fee instead of paying for each bat.
• Introduce a subscription plan where the person pays a fixed monthly fee to access all the bats.

• Offer different subscription tiers with varying benefits to cater to different customer needs.

• Provide additional perks or discounts for long-term subscribers to incentivize continued payment.

• Consider offering a limited-time trial period to ...read more
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Q5. . Every month you are seeing a drop in the revenue from the app. How will you get to the problem?
Ans. 
To identify the problem causing the drop in revenue, I would analyze various factors such as user feedback, app performance, market trends, and competitor analysis.
• Analyze user feedback to identify any issues or dissatisfaction with the app.

• Evaluate the app's performance metrics such as user engagement, retention, and conversion rates.

• Conduct market research to understand any shifts in user preferences or competitive o...read more
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Q6. I was told that conversion rates are decreasing. What will you do?
Ans. 
To address decreasing conversion rates, I would analyze the data, identify the root causes, and implement targeted strategies.
• Analyze conversion data to identify trends and patterns

• Identify potential barriers or friction points in the conversion process

• Conduct user research and gather feedback to understand user behavior

• Optimize landing pages and user flows to improve conversion rates

• Implement A/B testing to experiment...read more
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Q7. Q. How will you go about designing a subscription based model?
Ans. 
To design a subscription based model, I would follow a systematic approach involving market research, pricing strategy, value proposition, and customer segmentation.
• Conduct market research to identify target audience and their needs

• Determine pricing strategy based on market analysis and competitor benchmarking

• Define the value proposition of the subscription model, highlighting benefits and unique features

• Segment custom...read more
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Q8. Did you clear the round?
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Questions based on case study submitted ( Choose an existing app and increase revenue by 5% for existing users) and resume

Why did you choose MakeMyTrip for the case submission?

Why can the feature fail?

Resume based questions

Puzzle - I have a Mathematical logic in my mind, and I would give you three numbers that satisfy that logic. You cannot ask me questions but can only give me three more numbers to which I would reply ‘yes’ if the numbers satisfy the logic and ‘no’ if they do not. You can ask unlimited number triplets, but you have only one shot in solving the logic. The numbers are 2,4,6. (E.g., If I say 3,6,9, the interviewer will respond as ‘yes’)
The numbers are in ascending order ( The key here is to eliminate all possibilities and not jump to conclusion)

Three ants are sitting on the three corners of an equilateral triangle. Each moves at constant speed and can independently move either in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction. If they start at the same time find the probability of collision

Design an online chess game. How will you monetize it? – Suggest five ways. How will you increase retention? How will you increase engagement?

Why do you think most games have launched a system where they allow users to buy coins through which they can make in-game purchases rather than allowing users to purchase those items directly?

Amazon’s daily revenue has fallen by 20%. Find the root cause.

In Farmville, we organize a seasonal sale during Halloween and Christmas where we sell season specific game items such as Christmas tree, Halloween pumpkins which can be added to the farm. The revenue generated through sale in Halloween was $300,000. Now during Christmas sale, we plan to sell the following in-game items: Reindeer, Christmas tree and Santa statue. The pricing and sales strategy lie in your hands. Suggest a strategy to increase revenue to $1,000,000 during Christmas.

Imagine you are the PM of Dota-2, what do you think is the most important “game-metric” that improved after the launch of Battle Pass. ( The question specific to Dota 2 was asked because I had mentioned I was a Dota2 gamer in my resume.)

Q1. Case: Feature to increase revenue 5%
Ans. 
Implementing a feature to increase revenue by 5%
• Analyze current revenue streams and identify areas for improvement

• Research market trends and customer preferences to identify potential new revenue opportunities

• Develop and test new features or enhancements to existing products/services

• Implement pricing strategies or promotions to drive sales

• Monitor and analyze the impact of the feature on revenue

• Continuously iterate and
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Q2. Tell me about yourself
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Q3. Run me through the case solution
Ans. 
The case solution involved analyzing customer data and identifying key pain points to develop a new product feature.
• Conducted customer interviews to gather feedback

• Analyzed data to identify common pain points

• Developed a new product feature to address identified pain points

• Tested the feature with a small group of customers

• Refined the feature based on feedback

• Launched the feature to all customers
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Q4. You notice the revenues have been declining for FIFA over the past week. What would you do as a PM?
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Q5. What are the possible causes of DAU decreasing?
Ans. 
Possible causes of decreasing DAU
• Changes in user behavior or preferences

• Technical issues or bugs

• Competition from other products

• Lack of new features or updates

• Poor user experience or interface

• Marketing or advertising changes

• Economic or societal factors

• Seasonal fluctuations

• Security concerns or breaches
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Q6. What could be reasons for revenue/users decreasing?
Ans. 
Reasons for revenue/users decreasing
• Decrease in demand for product/service

• Increased competition

• Poor marketing strategy

• Product/service quality issues

• Economic downturn

• Changes in consumer behavior

• Lack of innovation

• Pricing strategy

• Technical issues

• Seasonal fluctuations
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Q7. What would be the effect on metrics if you were to double the XP received per match?
Ans. 
Doubling XP received per match would likely increase player engagement and retention, but could also impact game balance.
• Increased XP could incentivize players to play more matches and spend more time in the game.

• Higher XP rewards could also attract new players to the game.

• However, doubling XP without adjusting other game mechanics could lead to imbalances in player progression and rewards.

• It's important to consider th...read more
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Q8. What are the ways by which you can increase the purchase/spend on the app?
Ans. 
To increase purchase/spend on the app, we can focus on improving user experience, offering discounts and promotions, and implementing a loyalty program.
• Improve user experience to increase engagement and retention

• Offer discounts and promotions to incentivize purchases

• Implement a loyalty program to reward frequent users

• Personalize recommendations and offers based on user behavior

• Optimize pricing strategy to maximize reve...read more
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Graph based- level based games-users playing suddenly drop at level 6
For this round, try to show the breadth of thinking by coming up with multiple features and solutions. Also discuss the priority. Having some knowledge of mobile games could help understand some questions better but it is not a MUST. You canask for explanation or clarifications on what the flow of the game is and the interviewer would provide the same.

Puzzle-ant at every corner of an equilateral triangle. What is the probability that 2 ants clash if all the ants start moving simultaneously in either direction?

Design a scoring mechanism to decide winner of a game based on outfit design (creativity is the criterion)

Q1. Questions about zynga games, gamify an app to increse user engagement, puzzles, changes for words with friends to increase revenue by 5%
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Q2. Changes for words with friends to increase revenue by 5%
Ans. 
To increase revenue by 5%, Words with Friends can introduce premium features, offer in-app purchases, and run targeted ads.
• Introduce premium features such as exclusive game modes, power-ups, and customizations.

• Offer in-app purchases for virtual currency, which can be used to buy premium features or unlock levels.

• Run targeted ads that are relevant to the players' interests and demographics.

• Collaborate with brands to off...read more
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Q1. Changes for farmville for christmas. Identify customer segment and design a celebrity based games. Describe the core loop of the game. Some puzzles
Ans. 
Farmville for Christmas with celebrity-based games. Design puzzles for customer engagement.
• Identify customer segment interested in Farmville and Christmas themes

• Design celebrity-based games to attract and engage players

• Create puzzles related to farming, Christmas, and celebrities

• Ensure a core loop that encourages players to complete tasks, earn rewards, and progress

• Examples: Celebrity-themed farm decorations, celebrity...read more
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Q2. Describe the core loop of the game
Ans. 
The core loop of the game involves the player completing tasks to earn rewards and progress through levels.
• Player completes tasks to earn rewards

• Rewards help player progress through levels

• As player progresses, tasks become more challenging

• Loop repeats as player completes more tasks and progresses through levels
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